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One Shoe In the Road: Struck Cyclists and Their Stories

From: Don Godwin
Length: 00:58:54

struck cyclists talk, with original score by survivors Read the full description.
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Piece Description

Have you ever pulled up to a busy street on a bike, been waved across by a waiting truck driver, only to be creamed by a speeding car just as you pass the hulking semi into supposed safety? Have you ever been biking blissfully down a quiet neighborhood hill with friends, when suddenly out of nowhere a van gunning its engine, hurtling down the sleepy street mercilessly plows into you and two of your companions from behind, killing them and severely mangling you? Have you ever looked both ways and carefully started across an intersection, only to be blindsided by a driver babbling on their phone, ignoring the stop sign, sending you tumbling under the vehicle "like a pile of laundry" with the car wheels crushing your neck and pelvis? Have you ever seen the underside of a car as it continues after hitting you, with the wreckage of your bike sending out a shower of sparks as the vehicle drags you both down the street? These are just glimpses of the stories presented in One Shoe In the Road: Struck Cyclists and Their Stories, a one hour radio show put together by Erin Yanke and Don Godwin. It features stories of several cyclists from New Orleans, Louisiana and Portland, Oregon recorded in 2004, and edited together at KBOO in Portland. It is a very intense and graphic mix of intimate recollections, put together with the hope that car commuters will stumble across the program on their radio as they move through the streets, and start to consider the experiences of those who operate outside of the isolating confinements of the vehicle.

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Review of One Shoe In the Road: Struck Cyclists and Their Stories

In the show?s open, the narrator states that as both a driver and a survivor of a cycling accident, his objective is to bridge the gap between cyclists and drivers. ?One Shoe? dramatically presents the stories of several unidentified cyclists in chapters?the accident, the hospital experience, recovery, etc?a production style that is reminiscent of ?This American Life.? Music provides an effective bridge between segments and heightens the impact of some gruesome tales of cycling accidents?this is not something for the squeamish! The program does include some obscenities, which, the producers have cleverly altered for airplay. ?One Shoe? graphically examines a topic that is little discussed outside of the cycling community and is a program that could serve as good catalyst to a local discussion of bicycle safety and community planning around bike paths and cycling lanes.

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Review of One Shoe In the Road: Struck Cyclists and Their Stories

I like the idea of this piece. However, the is, in my opinion, some loose language that is an issue. I found the language in track #1 and track #3, but I did not listen beyond track #3. Good storytelling and use of nat sound.

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Review of One Shoe In the Road: Struck Cyclists and Their Stories

I first heard the full hour of "One Shoe in the Road" after I responded to a short write up about it in Chainbreaker 4. Before airing it on "Bike Talk" in Providence, I listened to the CD seven or eight times and was broght to tears more than once.
The commentary/narration by Don Godwin at the beginning (all of track 1), at the end, and between the stories is really poingnent and reflective. The interviews/stories are cut up and mixed together to give a collage of different bicyce accidents related one element at a time (before, impact, dirrectly following, recovery). The original music and background sounds are well edited and levels are good. Occasional swears throughout, but scrambled for clean radio play.
I can't recomment one segment over another because the entire hour is well worth the listen. National bike to work week is next week (May 15-19) and that gives several stations a great reason to air One Shoe in the Road, but this piece touches on issues beyond bike accidents their aftermath that make it very relevent all year round. Bike to work week attempts to address bicycle commuting issues that OSR effectively brings to light with personal, for the most part tragic, accounts.

Broadcast History

KBOO Portland, OR
WTUL New Orleans, LA
WBSR Providence, RI
KUNM Albequerque, NM

Timing and Cues

1)4:55 2)5:13 3)6:07 4)4:00 5)5:52 6)5:36 7)5:27 8)6:18 9)3:52 10)4:45 11)2:51 12)3:56

Musical Works

features the music of:
Spooky Dance Band, Reanimator, Gashlycrumb Tinies, Pink Fever, Hul